Event

Bending an Ear to Earth

In honor of Earth Day, oral poet Timothy P. McLaughlin will spin a rich tapestry of poetry and narrative that speaks to the human relationship with the wild. McLaughlin's open-hearted recitations have been described as 'spellbinding' and draw audiences into a felt kinship with the many presences of the natural world. Listening to his recitals is akin to taking a long walk deep into the mountains, and the self.

Timothy P. McLaughlin is an oral poet, storyteller, and ceremonialist. He served many years in Native education and founded an indigenous youth spoken word program featured in the New York Times and on the PBS NewsHour. Raised with Catholicism, he has followed a traditional Lakota spiritual path since early manhood. Much of his creative work is done in the wild; he is the author of the poetry collection, Rooted & Risen, and his second book of poems is due for release in 2019. McLaughlin is best known for his powerful style of embodied recitation. He and his wife, singer Madi Sato, are co-directors of PRAISING EARTH, an organization devoted to re-rooting oral traditions as an essential aspect of the human response to the ecological crisis.